Food Trend Alert: Flexitarianism | My Soho Times

The rise of the ‘flexitarian’ lifestyle reflects a broader shift towards conscientious consumption and a growing awareness of the impact of our food choices on both personal health and the environment. Predicted to take 2024 by storm, this phenomenon prompts the question: what exactly is flexitarianism? Kelly Gavaghan provides insight…

TREND ALERT: Flexitarianism… What is it?

Tasty appetizing healthy vegan black burgers with beetroot, quinoa and avocado sauce served on wooden table. Horizontal with copy space. Concept of healthy food, clean eating

Do you know what flexitarianism is? No, neither did I until I started to research this article. Well, that’s not strictly true. I’d heard the term and thought – correctly it seems – that it relates to people who decide to be vegetarian one day, vegan the next and a carnivore when it suits them. Well, it turns out that there is more to this movement than meets the eye and it’s based on scientific findings. Because apparently if we don’t change the way we eat we will ‘push food production beyond planetary boundaries by 2050’ according to Nature, the world’s leading multi-disciplinary science journal.

Nature’s report shows that eating a diet high in fats, sugars and meat actually risks destabilising the Earth’s ecosystem. Savvy Londoners are taking this very seriously and acting upon it. How? By being vegan one day, vegetarian the next and carnivore when it suits them too, and by doing so, helping to reduce greenhouse gasses from cattle by more than half.

As well as specialist vegan street food vendors, London restaurants are also getting in on the scene and responding positively with many now offering vegan, vegetarian and meat menus – not just their standard ‘one size fits all’ affairs that up until recently have been de rigeur. So now you know, what action can you take to help to save our beautiful planet… will you become flexi?

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Written by Kelly Gavaghan | @circus_media_mk

Kelly Gavaghan is a professional food writer and restaurant reviewer of 29 years who won an award with the National Newspaper Society for her column ‘Kelly Eats Out!” for Yorkshire Post Newspapers.

As champion of the independent food & drink industry, she has helped launch and publicise food festivals as well as writing for numerous publications, including food and drink guides. As well as launching the CIRCUS Independent Food & Drink Awards for Buckinghamshire, she has also been a judge for various food awards the prestigious Oxfordshire Restaurant Awards with Raymond Blanc as Patron.

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This article was originally published in the Autumn ’22 issue of My Soho Times magazine. CLICK HERE to read it online, or CLICK HERE to buy your print copy!